ATHENS, Ga. – The Elon University women’s tennis team couldn’t hold off Kansas State in the consolation match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament Saturday, Jan. 25, falling to the Wildcats 4-3 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Phoenix fell behind the Wildcats early on after dropping the doubles point with loses on court No. 2 and 3. The pairing of Taylor Casey and Maria Camara Ruiz fell first for Elon, dropping a 6-3 decision to Maria Panaite and Iva Bago on court No. 2.
The Wildcats finished off the point with Petra Niedermayerova and Palma Juhasz topping Jordan Johnston and Frida Jansaker by a score of 6-3.
Elon pulled the point back as the match shifted to the singles portion with Jansaker topping Panaite on court No. 2 to pull Elon back to a tie with the Wildcats, but Kansas State quickly responded and retook the lead thanks to Niedermayerova topping Johnston 6-4, 6-1 on court No. 1.
The Phoenix then picked up two straight wins to gain its first lead in any of the four matches thus far on the young season. Bryn Khoury dropped her first set on court No. 4 against Bago, but the senior bounced back to win the second set to force a tiebreaker. Khoury finished off Bago in the tiebreaker to pull Elon even again at 2-all.
Barbora Lazarova followed Khoury with a win on court No. 3 to put Elon ahead 3-2. The junior held off Juhasz with a 6-3, 6-3 win.
After Kansas State tied the match with a win on court No. 6, Casey needed to overcome her first set loss to keep Elon alive. The sophomore did so with a 7-5 win in the second set, but fell 10-8 in the third set tiebreaker against Amina St. Hill, which clinched the match for the Wildcats.
Elon will go on a 13-day break before taking the courts against Saturday, Feb. 8, against Norfolk State at 9:30 a.m. and North Carolina Central at 2 p.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The two matches are the first two of an eight-game homestand for the Phoenix, as the next time Elon goes on the road will be March 6 to East Carolina.
Results
#55 Kansas State 4, #75 Elon 3
Singles competition
1. #42 P. Niedermayerova (KSTATE) def. #69 Jordan Johnston (ELON) 6-4, 6-1
2. Frida Jansaker (ELON) def. Maria Panaite (KSTATE) 6-2, 6-2
3. Barbora Lazarova (ELON) def. Palma Juhasz (KSTATE) 6-3, 6-3
4. Bryn Khoury (ELON) def. Iva Bago (KSTATE) 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9)
5. Amina St. Hill (KSTATE) def. Taylor Casey (ELON) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Livia Cirnu (KSTATE) def. Maria Camara Ruiz (ELON) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. P. Niedermayerova/Palma Juhasz (KSTATE) def. Jordan Johnston/Frida Jansaker (ELON) 6-3
2. Maria Panaite/Iva Bago (KSTATE) def. Taylor Casey/Maria Camara Ruiz (ELON) 6-3
3. Amina St. Hill/Livia Cirnu (KSTATE) vs. Bryn Khoury/Viviana Stavreva (ELON) 4-3, unfinished